‘The first native-born American saint’
On Sept. 17, the bishop recorded the sixty-second installment of his video series, Grace & Peace. The complete text of his remarks follows herein.
On Sept. 17, the bishop recorded the sixty-second installment of his video series, Grace & Peace. The complete text of his remarks follows herein.
My dear sisters and brothers, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. While I was in the seminary 50 years ago, on Sept.14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, we had the privilege and honor to witness the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American saint through the means of television.
It was an amazing experience, even though our technology was pretty basic back then. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who lived from 1774 to 1821, was a wife, a mother, and an educator. She was a convert to the Catholic faith, and after her husband passed of tuberculosis, she became even more active in her life by fostering the growth of Catholic schools to educate our young people and established hospitals to aid those who were sick.
Her life was marked by numerous obstacles to achieving her dream. However, she didn't relent. She stuck to it to enable all of us to live a freer kind of life, and as a result, she founded the Daughters of Charity in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louis de Marillac to care for and educate the underprivileged. I am inspired by her steadfast witness to faith, and I pray that you will be as well.
Today, we know that spirit and the charism of the Daughters of Charity have touched and inspired many people across our nation to live holy, grace-filled lives, no matter their vocation in life. From mother to educator to provide care for the sick to witness of hope, she inspired another generation to pick up their cross and follow Jesus into eternity.
Our St. Vincent de Paul hospital system was due in large part to Elizabeth Ann Seton's vision to care for the poor and underprivileged as a mission of the Daughters of Charity. Today, our Catholic education system throughout the United States, especially here in the Diocese of Birmingham, thrives because of the seed sewn by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. St. Vincent Hospital provided much-needed healthcare to the growing new industrial city of Birmingham for many years until it recently merged with UAB Hospital. Like back then, we could echo what Pope St. Paul VI declared at the canonization Mass 50 years ago on Sept. 14, “Elizabeth Ann Seton is a saint.”
Would that we too could aspire to holiness that allows each of us to be protagonists of our lives and witness to the fullness of a life to which Christ has called us. May God bless you and all. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
